Identity checks to Londoners crossing Lambeth Bridge

Siân Berry: On 15 October 2019, officers from the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) were stationed on Lambeth Bridge stopping members of the public and asking them to present identification. Since police don’t commonly have the power to ask for identification and the public don’t have a duty to show them any or even provide their name, what was the purpose of this, under which powers were these checks carried out, and who issued the order to officers to carry out these checks?

The Mayor: The Met inform me that officers were located on Lambeth Bridge as part of the policing operation relating to the Extinction Rebellion two weeks of planned protest activity. The purpose of officers asking individuals to provide ID was to ensure they had no intention of engaging in unlawful activity that could potentially bring London to a standstill. Officers do not hold power to force members of the public to identify themselves and not all individuals presented their ID to the police.

Copy of IA 13744 Report submitted by TfL to the Croydon Tram Crash Investigations

Caroline Pidgeon: TfL's 'file copy' of IA 13744 (Competence and Fitness of Tram Operations Limited (TOL) Tram Operators dated 2 July 2014) released in response toQuestion 2018/1314 was missing the report's final four pages (numbered 9-12). Please publish the version(s) of IA 13744 (and any relatedcovering documentation) which TfL submitted to the Croydon Tram Crash Investigators (RAIB, SNC Lavalin), the British Transport Police and the Office of Rail and Road as part of theirinvestigations into the Croydon Tram Crash.

The Mayor: Please find a full copy of Internal Audit 13 744 attached. This report was commissioned in June 2014 and pre-dated the Sandilands tragedy by two years and four months. It was sent in full by Transport for London (TfL) to the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) on 24 November 2016 and to SNC-Lavalin on 14 December 2016.
Shortly after Sandilands, TfL put in place arrangements with RAIB, the British Transport Police (BTP) and the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) to provide any and every document or piece of information which the investigators wanted. TfL responded to every request promptly and fully. TfL remains ready to respond to any further enquiries or requests for information. TfL did not send this audit report to BTP or ORR because it was not requested by BTP or ORR. The RAIB did request a copy of the audit report (amongst many other documents) and so it was provided to them. The report is referred to at paragraph 86 of the RAIB report into the overturning. It records that the report concluded that the competence and fitness of Tram Operation Ltd.’s (TOL’s) tram drivers was ‘well controlled’ and included the following statements:
As far as TfL is aware, no further comment or conclusion was drawn by the RAIB from the document.
Although neither BTP or ORR requested a copy of this report, TfL have shared the full document with them. TfL apologises for the basic administrative error which resulted in an 8-page version of this report being released in answer to Mayor's Question 2018/1314.

Broken windows&quot; New York Policing model

Tony Devenish: Do you agree with the 'Broken windows" New York Policing model that vigorously cracking down on so called "minor" crimes , is one of the best ways to prevent criminals "graduating" to even more serious criminal behaviour ?

The Mayor: The ‘Broken Windows’ model is useful as part of the wider policing and community safety model in London, however there are no quick and easy answers to complex policing and crime challenges. My approach has been to restore neighbourhood policing as set out in my Police and Crime Plan. I believe that strong links with the community are vital in aiding the police to gather intelligence, detect crime and ultimately reduce it by preventing and solving long term problems. I have delivered on my pledge with at least two dedicated Police Constables and a dedicated Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) in every ward in London.
Tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB) is also a mandatory priority for all London boroughs as set out within my Police and Crime Plan and the MOPAC performance framework.
In my Crime and the Causes of Crime speech in July 2019, I stressed that crime cannot be tackled by the police alone and requires a multi-agency approach. I also said that there are complex and interrelated social and economic factors that can lead people to commit crime including poverty, unemployment, school exclusions, family breakdown and poor mental health. As a result, I have established England’s first Violence Reduction Unit (VRU), bringing together specialists from health, police, local government, probation and community organisations to tackle the underlying complex causes of violent crime. The VRU will identify the underlying risk factors that can lead to violence, diagnose the causes and develop interventions to tackle them.

Sibling abuse

Susan Hall: For each of the years Nov 16 to Oct 17, Nov 17 to Oct 18 and Nov 18 to Oct 19, please can you provide how instances of sibling abuse were recorded by the Met?

The Mayor: Please see the attached spreadsheet in response to Mayor's Question2019/20364, 2019/20365 and 2019/20395. The data covers violent or sexual offences where the suspect is known to the victim and the nature of that relationship.

Victims of crime

Andrew Dismore: How many victims of crime in Bloomsbury and the West End in the last 12 months were a) tourists and other visitors to London; and b) local residents?

The Mayor: Please see the attached spreadsheet for the period specified. It should be noted that the MPS can only identify those victims who self-declare as a tourist to London or a local resident. It is not a mandatory requirement for a victim of crime to supply an address.

Bikes crimes

Susan Hall: For each of the years Nov 16 to Oct 17, Nov 17 to Oct 18 and Nov 18 to Oct 19, please can you provide many crimes were committed by suspects on bicycles? Please provide a breakdown by month and crime type.

The Mayor: Please see the attached table for the requested data.

Motorbike crimes

Susan Hall: How many crimes were committed by suspects on motorcycles since 2015/16? Please provide a breakdown by month and crime type.

The Mayor: Please see the attached table for the requested data.

999 response times

Caroline Pidgeon: Please provide the average Metropolitan Police response times for 999 calls categorised as (i) I grade, (ii) S grade (iii) E grade and (iv) R grade since January 2019. Please provide a breakdown per month, and per borough.

The Mayor: Please find the table attached with the data.
Please note that R Grade calls have not been included in the data as these are referred calls and the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) do not attend these.
The information requested is included in MOPAC’s Quarterly Performance Update Report on the MPS and published on MOPAC’s website. This allows MOPAC to be able to hold the MPS to account and is used at the Quarterly Oversight Board Meetings and is also made available for Police and Crime Committee (PCC) meetings.
MOPAC’s Evidence and Insight Team is currently working on a dashboard on response times and the information will be published monthly for increased transparency.